'Iron man' suit on track, but hurdles remain.

AuthorMachi, Vivienne

* TAMPA, Fla.--A full body armor suit designed to protect commandos knocking down doors is coming closer to reality, as Special Operations Command anticipates revealing a fully functional prototype by the end of 2018, officials said.

The highly anticipated tactical assault light operator suit (TALOS), which has been in development since 2013, is intended to protect the first special operator coming through a door during a raid. It should have enough armor to thwart small arms fire or bomb blasts. It would also provide support for physically exhausting activities such as climbing multiple flights of stairs or carrying heavy loads.

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Army Col. Jim Miller, director of the suit's joint acquisition task force, said the program is continuing to develop a prototype of the often-dubbed "Iron Man" suit. The current suit is called the Mark 5 because it has gone through at least five iterations since the effort first began.

"There have been some design changes to it every month since I arrived last July," he said at the National Defense Industrial Association's Special Operations Forces Industry Conference. Nevertheless, the task force has made progress narrowing down requirements and capabilities, he added.

The TALOS effort is "relatively on schedule," Miller said. "I say relatively because this is [research and development]," he added, noting that it is critical to develop a product that works as advertised. Once a prototype is developed, the effort will become a program of record, most likely run by program executive office SOF warrior, he said.

The suit comprises a base layer that hosts a variety of physiological and biological sensors, actuators that serve as the muscles to power the suit, processors and computers, and a durable exoskeleton that offers support to the operator.

Currently the exoskeleton is made out of titanium, but the task force may consider alternative materials such as composites in the future, Miller said.

Power supply remains a challenge, he noted. Ideally the operator should be able to move untethered for several hours. The task force hopes to achieve that goal by the time the first prototype comes online.

Keeping the weight down is also an issue: The suit is expected to be covered in armor "from head to toe" and feature enhanced ballistics protection, which adds load, Miller said. Any new modification that strengthens the armor has a "trigger effect" on the suit's overall weight, he noted.

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